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Paramedics and doctors say the bag saved her life and she would have been killed or seriously injured if it had not softened the blow.

Typical injuries from being hit by a car on the hip include fractured ribs, punctured lungs, organ damage, broken spine, shattered pelvis or broken legs.

Ayse, of Bodmin, Cornwall, said: 'I don't really remember what happened. One minute I was about to cross the road then I heard a loud bang.

'Next minute I was on the ground looking up at lots of people around me. Everyone thought I was going to be really hurt but I just had a bit of a headache.

'The car had hit my bag and all the stuff inside had taken the full force. It was like wearing a bullet proof vest.' Her mother Sally, 37, added: 'When the police rang me I was in a bit of a state but luckily Ayse was not seriously injured.

'The ambulance crew said it was because her school bag took the full impact, saving her life because she should have suffered broken bones and other injuries.

'Sometimes I tell her off for having too much in her bag and for not carrying it properly on both her shoulders - but I'm so relieved now that she didn't listen.

'Kids always carry their bags on one shoulder, apparently its more fashionable.' Ayse was struck by the car at 4pm as she walked with sister Jasmine and was taken to hospital but released the same day.

Despite the collision the Year 7 pupil at Bodmin College only suffered bruises and a slight injury to her elbow.

Sally, a mum-of-seven, said: 'The car hit her on her right side and threw her over the bonnet. She was very shaken up but thankfully not badly hurt.

'Jasmine witnessed it all and said it was like a scene from a film. But in the end the bag saved her.

'Her gym trainers were in there, they're new and very well made. They played a part in cushioning her from the blow.

'She looked into her school bag and noticed three bags of crisps she had in there were completely smashed flat.' Road safety campaigner Andrew McGavin from action group 'Better Driving Please' said Ayse had been 'exceptionally lucky'.

He said: 'It could have been a much more serious incident. The padding provided by her bag protected her from the blow of the vehicle.

'All too often drivers run red lights because they are in a hurry and think they can sneak through unnoticed.' A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said a female driver of the Peugeot stopped at the scene of the accident.

She was questioned on suspicion of driving without due care and police are still appealing for witnesses before she is interviewed again.